Week 6, Term 4

Hello from the Prep Rooms! 

This week in Literacy we have been reading words with our new sounds ‘-y’ and ‘ie’. During reading, we have been focusing on reading automatically, without the need to sound out each word, to improve our fluency. We enjoyed writing our Cold Writes, on the topic ‘Lost’ and were proud to demonstrate the improvement in our independent writing. Students wrote their final Cold Write narrative on the topic ‘lost’. After completing their story students then used a red pencil to edit their writing looking to correct capital letters, ensure it makes sense, include punctuation and finger spaces. We introduced the Maths ‘Minute Challenge’. Students were given a minute each day to write as many numbers 1-10 accurately with correct formation. Each day their personal challenge is to write more numbers accurately than the day before. 

A highlight of our week was our swimming lesson, and we were impressed with the brave way students participated, even when feeling nervous. Thank you so much to our parent helpers who not only helped supervise walking to and from the indoor pool, but who also helped manage the chaos that is the changeroom! A big thank you to Carly for organising these free lessons for the students.  Everyone is excited for the next session. 

Next week, we will be learning one new code ‘oa’. We will continue working on writing in our dotted thirds books and growing in confidence with editing. In Maths we will continue reviewing numbers through our maths rotations. For STEAM we will begin using the coding mice, which gives students the opportunity to learn basic coding, using directions to control the movements of the mice. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

 
Lauren and Nicole. 

Hello from the Golden Wattle Building, 

Over the last few weeks in Literacy, we’ve read and explored the features of narratives by looking at characters, settings and the structure a good story uses to draw the reader in.  We used this knowledge when writing our own narratives and practiced editing and uplevelling our story to make it more interesting.  On Friday we showed our creativity, our punctuation and handwriting skills when writing amazing stories about ‘The Incredible Freedom Machine’ during our Cold Write. 

This week in Maths we have been exploring the connection between addition and subtraction.  We have been learning how to solve simple addition and subtraction problems using a range of efficient mental and written strategies.  Using number lines to solve problems has been a big focus for the students this week. 

As part of our BQT ‘Where does energy come from?’, we have been investigating forces that pull. We looked at how gravity and friction affect objects that are pushed or pulled.  We enjoyed conducting experiments with toy cars, seeds and turtles to find out more about how things move. 

Last Friday our 1/2 classes had a fantastic time at Kickball. They showed enthusiasm and great teamwork as they played against the other schools. Thank you to the parents who assisted us on the day.  We were all very excited to begin the first of our swimming lessons today. This will continue over the next few weeks so please make sure your child has their swimming bag on Fridays with a towel and bathers and ensure all items of clothing are named.  A special thank you to Carly for organising the Kickball event, our swimming program and for getting in the water to help us with our swimming skills! 

Next week we will begin learning about the features and structure of a Procedural text, exploring Chance in Maths and investigating where energy comes from in our BQT lessons.  We will wrap up our Star of the Week program and continue our swimming lessons on Friday. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Sally, Wendy, Sarah and Bec

Since our last newsletter, we have been busy indeed. In Maths, we have explored volume by constructing popcorn containers with paper and considering the volume of different prisms made with an A4 page. We found out about the properties of supplementary, complementary angles and angles around a point, using this knowledge to solve problems involving missing angles. In Literacy, we have continued to read Wonder; now exploring Justin’s perspective and reflecting on the Pullmans as a family unit. In Word Study, we began to look at the ceed-cede-cess morpheme, which means “go”. In BQT we continued our deep dive into natural disasters, focusing on tsunamis, erosion and weathering. We had a go at observing how water and air can weather rock under certain conditions. 

Next week, Wonder will take us back to Auggie’s perspective and tackle some big (and sad) life events. In Maths, we will look at how data can be used to mislead or tell a story. 

Have a lovely weekend. 

Jay, Sam K, Liz, Hannah, Mr Higgins and Giovanna. 

PE News

Prep E

• Dalals E - for the confident way you have been counting and making the numbers between 20-50 this week. 

• Nala L - for making a story about getting lost more detailed by including 'wow' words. 

Prep N

• Jude K – for the confident way you shared your knowledge during our discussion on how things move.

• Charlie R – for your focus and confidence during writing.

1/2S

• Jimmy W – for the persistence you have shown when writing your story “Super Ted and the evil mouse”.

• Zoe S – for the hard work you have put into achieve your writing goal.

1/2SB

• Nancy S - for the way you always challenge yourself to improve your writing. Your writing is a delight to read.

• Georgie N – for always approaching all learning tasks with a positive mindset.

1/2W

• Ollie A – for working hard and creating a beautiful storybook.

• Tait E – Tait, your book about ‘The Yellow Man’ is wonderful. You worked so hard on it.

3/4CN

• Eli H – for the way you supported and led your partner during our eSmart activity.

• Emilia E – for the courage you showed during a recent Maths test. Your hard work and persistence are paying off.

3/4L

• Bexley B - for ignoring distractions and concentrating on your work. 

3/4L

• James C - for the bravery you displayed reading your story at assembly. 

• Luca S - for your insightful 'hunches' and contributions to our class discussions of Treasure Island. 

3/4PS

• Sofia DL – for your outstanding contributions to our class activities.

• Rafi A – for your outstanding problem solving and sharing during maths activities.

5/6HG

• Johnny H – for seeking feedback to improve your learning.

• Josh M – for the way you can read aloud to the class.

• Whole Class – for the way you all worked together and supported each other in angles lessons.

5/6J

• Sunday R – for consistently doing your best work, no questions asked.

• Felicity T – for having a go at softball and for getting yourself on the scoresheet.

5/6R

• Harvey W – for the way you’ve shared your ideas and knowledge during our learning about Natural Hazards.

• Pippa S – for the way you included others during our school softball game. Your encouragement went a long way.

5/6SL

• Lochie C – for the curiosity you display in all areas/subjects. Your insightful questions challenge the class to think deeper.

Pak Owen

• Chet C and Mick C – for discretion, care and consideration towards a classmate.

Indonesian

• Ria B – for going above and beyond in tidying up our classroom space.